Rockland County Courthouse and Dutch Gardens facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Rockland County Courthouse and Dutch Gardens
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The Rockland County Courthouse in July 2012
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 Location in New York
Location in the United States
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| Location | Jct. of S. Main St. and New Hempstead Rd., New City, New York |
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| Area | 7.8 acres (3.2 ha) |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Dennison & Hirons; Mowbray-Clarke, Mary Horgan |
| Architectural style | Beaux Arts, Art Deco |
| NRHP reference No. | 90002104 |
| Added to NRHP | January 3, 1991 |
The Rockland County Courthouse and Dutch Gardens is a special place in New City, New York. It includes an old courthouse building and a beautiful garden. This area is important because of its history and unique design. It is also known as a historic district. This means it is a place with buildings, sites, and objects that are important to history.
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The Historic Courthouse
A Building from 1928
The courthouse building was built in 1928. It is a large, three-story building made of limestone. The building's style mixes two types: Beaux-Arts and Art Deco. Inside, there is a big lobby that goes across the front of the building. On the front of the courthouse, you can see a memorial for World War I.
The Beautiful Dutch Garden
Designed by Mary Horgan Mowbray-Clarke
The Dutch Garden was designed by Mary Horgan Mowbray-Clarke. She was an artist from West Nyack, New York. The garden was built between 1934 and 1938. It was part of a project called the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA helped people find jobs during the Great Depression.
The garden was made to remember the first settlers in Rockland County. It was designed in the old 17th-century Dutch style. In 1935, the Dutch Garden won "Garden of the Year" from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. A skilled craftsman named Biaglo Gugliuzzo built the garden's paths and walls. He used bricks from Haverstraw.
Special Features of the Garden
The Dutch Garden was the only WPA landscape project designed by a woman. It has a small tea house. Inside the tea house, there is a brick fireplace. The fireplace has carvings of mountains, windmills, and other peaceful symbols. These carvings represent Dutch-American history. Some carvings also show popular characters from the 1930s, like Popeye and the Old Dutch Cleanser maid.
Other things you can find in the garden include a bandstand and a winding brick wall. There is also a small, round brick table. People say that folk singer Burl Ives once performed there. It is also said that Eleanor Roosevelt visited the garden.
The Garden Today
The Dutch Garden is now a county park. In the spring, you can see many beautiful flowering bulbs there. The garden was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. This means it is recognized as an important historical site. The county bought the garden in 2008, and it has been updated since then.
